A combination of health insurers’ need to cover risks associated with the possible loss of federal subsidies and the exit of Molina Healthcare from the Wisconsin market has fueled an eye-popping average rate increase of 50 percent on the Obamacare exchange in Wisconsin for 2018.

A 50 percent price increase likely will cause some enrollees to drop their coverage, potentially leaving them uninsured.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday morning aiming to give consumers access to what Modern Healthcare called “cheaper, skimpier health plans,” which could be an alternative for some consumers to buying insurance on the exchange.

The figures the Wisconsin Office of Insurance Commissioner released Thursday were significantly higher than preliminary rates insurers filed in July. Those showed rate increases ranging from 10.1 percent to 24.7 percent for health insurers in the Milwaukee area.

Rates for mid-level silver insurance plans will increase between 43.3 percent and 53.2 percent in southeast Wisconsin, depending on the county, according to figures released by the Office of Commissioner of Insurance.

Rates will increase by a statewide average of 19 percent for the less-comprehensive bronze plans and by about 20 percent for the high-end gold plans, said JP Wieske, the agency’s deputy commissioner.

Gov. Scott Walker called the increases “unsustainable and unacceptable.” He said if Washington politicians don’t repeal and replace Obamacare, we will explore our options in seeking greater flexibility from the federal government to help lower costs for Wisconsin citizens.”

Wieske said the state might seek a waiver from the federal government to experiment with a different health coverage model.

Wieske cited two reasons for the jump between July preliminary filings and Thursday’s final numbers.

First, President Donald Trump’s administration has threatened to cut subsidy payments to insurers that make Obamacare plans affordable to low- and moderate-income people by covering out-of-pocket costs. The Office of Commissioner of Insurance instructed health insurance carriers selling on the exchange to file rates that assume the subsidies will not be funded.

Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative plans to continue selling on the marketplace but CEO Cathy Mahaffey said 2018 has been the co-op’s most difficult year “due to all the uncertainties and potential risk in the insurance market.”

“We had to make the very difficult choice between serving a region of the state that would have otherwise had zero marketplace options or raising rates significantly,” Mahaffey said. “We made the decision we felt would help the most people remain insured.”

Network Health also will remain on the exchange and president and CEO Coreen Dicus-Johnson said insurers had no choice but to hike rates because of uncertainty about federal subsidies and insurers exiting the exchange.

“I’m not surprised by the number because of all the substantial changes in the marketplace,” she said.

Dicus-Johnson said some consumers might not face such large price increases. It depends on their income level and whether they qualify for federal subsidies, she said.

Mark Rakowski, vice president of Children’s Community Health Plan, which also will remain on the exchange, agreed that the impact on consumers will depend on their income level.

“Increases will vary for every single individual,” Rakowski said.

While overall premiums are increasing, individuals who qualify for premium subsidies may find that their premium is actually decreasing, he said.

“I encourage people to connect with insurance professionals early in the process to learn about the plans and cost,” Rakowski said